In the '454 application, a double-ended needle assembly holder, used in conjunction with an evacuated blood collection tube, is disclosed to have a housing that is pivotable to a position in substantial alignment with the longitudinal axis of the needle such that, once the housing is pivoted to the alignment position, the needle is retained therein so as to preclude the sharp end of the needle from being exposed.
The '454 safety device works well but for the fact that the user of the device, for example a phlebotomist or a nurse, is oftentimes blocked by the housing from having a clear view of the tip of the needle (cannula). To elaborate, ordinarily a phlebotomist, when obtaining fluid, as for example blood, from a patient, would position the cannula such that its bevel faces up. For this discussion, the bevel of a cannula is understood to be the sharp, butting end of the cannula. The reason that a phlebotomist wants to position the bevel of the cannula to face up is so that she can see the sharp point, rather than the round end, of the cannula so that the cannula can be more easily and accurately inserted into, for example the vein, of a patient. But since the needle assembly is threaded into the '454 safety device such that it may end up in any orientation, the safety housing attached to the '454 device would sometimes get in the way and prevent the phlebotomist from viewing the true angle of the cannula.